Letters To Editor

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On Wednesday, August 29, 2015, the Editorial page showed a cartoon, depicting the "Grim Reaper" wearing a badge, which stated that he was "A Proud Supporter of the NRA." If this was an attempt at humor, it failed badly.

God is an Awesome God! He is Awesome because He is Holy. Holiness is a description of things that are good, righteous, and separate from the world. This week’s Awesome God Festival shows that many people are deceived into thinking that unholy music is acceptable for worshiping a Holy God. The emphasis they place on music and the obsession they show defending it, demonstrate that music itself has become a god.

It is an exciting time for North Carolina with our groundbreaking clean energy industry making its mark. From 2012 to 2014, clean energy employment increased at an annual rate of 25 percent, outpacing the growth of any other industry in North Carolina. The industry provides nearly 23,000 full-time jobs and over $4.8 billion in annual gross revenues. These statistics are a promising indicator of the unique possibilities clean energy has for the state of North Carolina.

This is to inform you Yankee Carpetbaggers and anti history/heritage buffs about a historical fact. My great, great, grandfather, his brothers, and many other relatives are to be remembered in reference to their service for defending their homeland.

In the past months many people have spoken about the coal ash problem. I believe it is an environmental issue which must be addressed, but I would like to say to all the bleeding heart liberals that during the decades of the '50s thru '90s we wanted more and more power and we wanted it cheap. The power industry is regulated by the state and must ask for an increase in price. Every time Duke asks, there was always opposition. We do need to clean it up, but I am afraid that the tax payer should help with the expense.

If you have driven on I-77 to Charlotte in the last twenty years, you know when to avoid the daily traffic jams. If you have work in Charlotte and live in IredellCounty, you know when to leave for work in the mornings. You also know when to leave Charlotte to avoid the daily traffic jams, which is becoming more and more difficult to do, both heading to and escaping from, Charlotte.

I can remember traveling on I-77 toward Charlotte and back my whole life. I understand since the population boom of the '90s, traffic has gotten worse. More folks, more traffic I get it, but there used to be a fence that was grown over blocking the view of the lake. There was no traffic. They tore it down to clean it up, making a great view. Since then it has destroyed any semblance of a flowing interstate. They have stopped boats from anchoring there. It hasn't helped.

With all of the controversy over flags lately I was advised by my neighbor that the South Baptist Church on Chipley Ford Road was flying their church flag above the American Flag. So that evening I took a ride up the road after sunset and found this to be true and the flag isn't lit from below. What surprise's me that out of all the people that have been going to church there not one corrected this display!! I'm sure that many have served as I did should know better than to let this pass! Please pray for forgiveness and correct ASAP!

I’ve gone to schools on several occasions, giving talks on several educational subjects. I couldn’t help but notice the diversity within the classrooms, and, for a brief moment in my mind, went back to my childhood days in schools when the schools were either black or white.

The saying is that you can educate ignorance but not stupidity. We mark our living today as postmodern meaning that everyone has his own truth. If we accept this premise, then why spend public money on education? The idea is that we all have the truth, so why not burn the textbooks? Everybody has got it right. Is this not good news? Even this letter is stating a point of view, believe it or not. So what has changed? It was said three centuries ago that one of the wonders of the world is when two persons agree. We know that disagreement can produce death and destruction.

Friday was an historic day, not just for South Carolina, but also for the nation. Friday’s action by the South Carolina legislature and Governor Nikki R. Haley recognized symbols that once stood for courage and bravery could be transformed into symbols of hate and terror. Allowing those symbols to be displayed on public lands was just plain wrong. Individuals have the right to express themselves as they see fit, but the government and public areas must be held to a different standard. We cannot use public lands and property to exhibit symbols that denigrate segments of our population.

I am confused as to why the people of the south hang all of their pride and heritage on this "enemy" flag. We, as the USA, were at war with the people who used that flag in battle against us, and we won that war. The South surrendered and returned to the USA. I am 1/4 German, and I am very proud of it, but it is not the Nazi part of my heritage I take pride in. Sure it's a part of it, the part we learn from and move on. The South lost the war, and it seems the refusal to give up that flag is showing that they refuse to accept that fact. The phrase "The south will rise again" makes me wonder what does that mean exactly? Do they intend to try again?

I think everyone should study our history. The Civil War was not just a fight about slavery, and it certainly was not between blacks and whites. Slavery was a part of the problem, but the war was about the right of states to have some laws different from the federal laws. To this day states need to be able to have different laws because of where their state is located in our huge continent. For example: Texas bordering Mexico needs different laws about borders than North Carolina.

President Obama used the tragedy in Charleston to call for more gun control. The tragedy in Charleston is a sin problem, a heart problem. Jesus said in Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” Where do murders come from? Murders come from the heart. What are some of the other things the Word of God says about the heart? Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Jeremiah 17:9a “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.”

As I hear the drums of war coming out of Washington, it gives me pause to think. Do we want to send more soldiers into harm’s way? We have been there a very long time under at least three different presidents. We have sacrificed our best and finest and countless billions of dollars, yet still I hear the beat of drums. If “they” are so keen on war then bring back the draft. Make it mandatory for everyone to serve who can in some capacity. Include our senators, congressmen and their families. No exemptions. All have the opportunity to serve front and center.

If you are a follower of Christ then this letter is for you. Do not judge your fellow man for sins committed in the past especially if they repented. Many of you across the country are acting like terrorists toward a loving family. Stop bullying these girls and their brother for something that does not involve you. What would Jesus say to you right now if he saw in the flesh the things you guys say or type about these loving people?

The most recent “Out of Our Past” column in the Record and Landmark had two posts celebrating the opening of the Carnation Milk Plant 75 years ago. Most today know little about the persistent work done by county extension agent A.R. Marrow and others like Howard Stamey to bring dairy farming to this county. Mr. Marrow even ran a milk route in the morning before his day job.

A recent letter encouraged Christians to find common ground with non-Christians. That is a noble goal that cannot be reached. All people share the basic human needs but that is about it. People make the choice to not believe, half believe or believe. A committed Christian is a person who believes in the creator God and believes the Holy Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God, and the non-committed and the un-believer does not. If someone tells you that the Bible has mistakes or it really doesn’t mean what it says, that’s a big red flag.

Why do you think the Iredell Budget had zero opposition? It doesn’t matter. I live in Mooresville and have spoken at many budget meetings, and I was one of many in Mooresville in opposition to the purchase of the bankrupt Adelphia cable system.